Mounting mechanism for a seine-hauling power block



Oct. 27, 1970 -L. E. DEMMERT MOUNTING MECHANISM FOR A SEINE-HAULINGPOWER BLOCK Filed Sept. 13, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Muff/ICE E.DMMA-R? A rroezve 'y Oct. 21; 910 L55. 0m 3,535,81

MOUNTING MECHANISM FOR A SEINE-HAULING POWER BLOCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 15, 1968 l N VEN TOR. ilk/FENCE E. DEMMEFT drive/V5) L. E.DEMMERT MOUNTING MECHANISM FOR A SEINE-HAULING POWER BLOCK Filed Sept.15, 1968 Oct. 27, 1970 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

1A WKEIYLE E. DEM

Oct. 27, 19 70 E, DEMMERT 3,535,811

MOUNTING MECHANISM FOR A SEINE-HAULING POWER BLOCK Filed Sept. 13, 19685 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TOR. An/kiwi A awn/5P7 BY Mam United StatesPatent Ofi ce 3,535,811 Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,535,811 MOUNTINGMECHANISM FOR A SEINE- HAULING POWER BLOCK Lawrence E. Demmert, 3408Redwood Ave, Bellingham, Wash. 98225 Continuation-impart of applicationSer. No. 757,199,

Aug. 12, 1968. This application Sept. 13, 1968,

Ser. No. 759,693

Int. Cl. A01k 73/12 US. Cl. 43--8 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A trolleycarrying the seine-hauling power block can be driven along an elongatedtrack having its length extending athwartships of a boat. A carriagesupporting such athwartships track can be driven along a fore-and-aftboom and the block can be driven along the athwartships track so as tolay the seine back and forth in a pile below the block as it is hauledin. The athwartships track may include two quadrants having inboard endsparallel to each other and to the boom or may be straight. If theathwartships track includes two quadrants, the boom carriage carries atransfer track section which can be placed in registry with the inboardend of either arcuate track section by shifting such arcuate tracksections transversely of the boom. Rollers mounted for engagement by aseine being hauled by the power block can guide and deter billowing ofthe seine.

This application is a continuation-iu-part of my copending applicationSer. No. 757,199, for Mounting Mechanism for a Seine-Hauling PowerBlock, filed Aug. 12, 1968, now abandoned, which was a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 465,391, filed June 21, 1965, now abandoned.

It is a principal object of the present invention to effect power-drivenmovement of a power block into various locations above the deck of apurse seiner by remote control so that the seine can be stowedefiectively by piling it on the purse seiner deck with minimum hauling.

More specifically it is an object to shift such a power block back andforth generally athwartships of the purse seiner for laying the seine inelongated piles, the lengths of which extend athwartships of the purseseiner. Alternatively, it is an object to effect movement of the powerblock fore and aft while the seine is being hauled in so that it will bestowed in elongated piles having their lengths running fore and aft ineach instance. When a pile is completed the location of the path alongwhich the power block moves can be shifted so that the next pile will belaid alongside the last one completed.

It is also an object to provide power block mounting mechanism whichwill guide movement of such a power block along paths located aboveeither side of the purse seiner deck, depending upon the side of thepurse seiner over which the net is being hauled.

An additional object is to provide such power block mounting mechanismwhich can be supported effectively for location of the power block inany of its possible positions.

In providing such power block mounting mechanism, it is an object tomaintain the deck space clear so as not to interfere with piling of theseine gear.

Another object is to provide mechanism which can be used to efiectmovement of the block mounting mechanism quickly and easily.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective of the aft portion of a purse seiner showingthe power block mounting of the present invention in use. FIG. 2 is aplan of the aft portion of the purse seiner showing the mountingmechanism and 15 Claims FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the aft portion ofa purse seiner showing such mounting.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail plan of a portion of the generallytransverse track elements and an adjacent portion of the boom, partsbeing broken away.

FIG. 5 is a port side elevation of the mounting mechanism, having partsbroken away, and FIG. 6 is an elevation of such mounting mechanismlooking forward, from which parts have been broken away.

FIG. 7 is a top perspective of the aft portion of a purse seiner showinga modified type of power block mounting according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a plan and FIG. 9 is a side elevation of this typis of powerblock mounting installation on a reduced sea e.

FIG. 10 is a detail section through a portion of the modified powerblock mounting taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 7, parts being broken away.

FIG. 11 is a horizontal section of the block portion of the mechanism online 11-11 of FIG. 10 and FIG. 12 is a vertical section through theblock on line 1212 of FIG. 11.

The boat 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a typical purse seiner, on the afterdeck 2of which the purse seine is stowed. In recent years such purse seinesincluding the corkline 3, the web 4 and the leadline 5 have been hauledby being passed over a power-driven block 6. Customarily such a powerblock has been suspended from the tip of an up wardly inclined boomwhich has been held stationary during hauling of the seine. In order tostow the seine as it is hauled in, four men have been required. Thefirst man has piled the leadline on the bottom of the seine, two menhave piled the web of the not which may be as wide as 120 feet, and thefourth man has piled the corkline secured to the upper edge of the web.

By use of the present invention, the seine can 'be laid back and forthin a pile as it is hauled in so that only two men are required for theoperation. The seine is laid on the deck in folds by shifting the powerblock as the seine is hauled in. Thus the power block will be movedbodily progressively over locations where it is desired to have theseine piled. For this purpose the power block is supported on travelingmounitng means which are located relatively close to the deck of thepurse seiner and substantially in a horizontal plane.

The mounting mechanism for the power block 6 thus includes the trolley 7from which the power block is suspended by a swivel 8. Such trolley runsalong track means extending generally athwartships which are illustratedin FIGS. '1 to 6 as two arcuate sections 9 of a channel track supportwhich opens downward. As shown best in FIG. 6, such channel sectionshave inturned flanges 10* along their edges which form between them andthe side walls of the channel section track grooves 11 shown in FIGS. 4and 5. Movement of the trolley along the tracks of the sections 9 iseffected by rotation of the pinion 12, shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, whichmeshes with the rack 13 extending along one of the channel flanges 10 ofeach channel section 9.

The track means elements 9 constitute principal components of a carriagesupported by and movable fore and aft along the horizontal boom 14 whichprojects aft from the mast 15. Such carriage further includes the sleeve16 :eived in the movable along guide channels 23 extending Fore and aftalong the inner sides of the boats rails 24.

The inboard ends of the arcuate track members 9 Jreferably lie alongsideeach other, as shown best in FIG. i. To enable the inboard track ends tobe disposed in lIlCh relationship, it is preferred that each tracksection 2e substantially a quadrant in extent, as indicated in FIGS. land 2. Such inboard ends of the track sections can be received in achannel 25 which is attached to an aft sleeve 56 of the carriage, whichsleeve also encircles the horizontal boom 14. This sleeve can besupported from the zoom for easy movement along it by rollers 27 whichare ournaled in the sleeve. The carriage can be moved fore 1nd aft alongthe boom by rotation of a pinion 28 driven :y a hydraulic motor 29 andengaged with a rack 28' srovided on and extending along the boom, asillustrated particularly in FIG. 5.

A purse seine can be hauled onto a purse seiner over one "ail by theapparatus described above, as illustrated, for :xample, in FIG. 1. Theseine will be passed over the power block 6 from which it will fall ontothe deck 2 of :he purse seiner. When the seine is hauled in over the:tarboard rail, as illustrated, it will be desirable for the gower blockto be located at the port side of the boom 14. As the seine is hauled inby power rotation of the block :ffected by the hydraulic motor 30, thelead-piling man will pull the leadline over to the starboard rail andpile It just inside the rail. A stretch of web will extend from heleadline to the bulk of the seine which falls directly iown from theblock 6.

With the carriage maintained at one location along the aoom 14, thehydraulic motor 31 can be energized to drive he trolley 7 slowly along atrack section 9 as the pinion L2 turns in driving engagement with therack 13. The ipeed at which the trolley is propelled along the tracklECtlOll will be coordinated with the speed of rotation of :he powerblock 6 so that most of the web and the corkline will be laid properlyon the deck. Such operation of :he trolley-driving motor 31 and thepower block motor 30 can be effected by remote control by an operatorstanding near or on the deckhouse 32, for example. When the power blockhas been shifted to complete a desired pile )f corkline and web, asshown in FIG. 1, extending athwartships from the port rail, the motor 29will be energized to shift the carriage along boom 14 forward through inincrement equal to the Width of one pile of gear. As more of the seineis hauled in, the trolley motor 31 will :hen be energized again to laynet in the next pile.

Alternatively, the seine can be laid in piles extending fore and aft bylocating the trolley 7 in a particular ithwardships position and thenprogressively traversing :he carriage fore or aft to produce such alongitudinal pile )f gear. When one elongated pile has thus been laid,the :rolley motor 31 will be energized to shift the trolley 1hrough anincrement athwartships of the purse seiner so that the next pile of gearcan be laid alongside the first pile by again traversing the carriagealong the boom 14 IS the seine is hauled in. Such operations areperformed iuccessively to deposit the seine in successive layers of:rossing piles.

Guy lines 33 are arranged to interconnect the trailing and of theboom'and opposite sides of the purse seiner to iecure such boom endagainst swinging. The aft end of ;he boom is supported by a line 34extending upward to ;he top of the mast 15. The desired elevation of theboom [4 can be established by sliding collar 36 supporting the forwardend of the boom upward or downward along the nast 15. Such verticaladjustment can be accomplished 1y actuating hydraulic jacks 37 locatedalong side th nast which support the collar.

As has been mentioned above, when a seine is being iauled aboard thepurse seiner, it is desirable for the mower block to be supported at theside of the boom [4 opposite the rail over which the seine is beinghauled. Consequently, if the seine is to be hauled over the port rail,instead of the starboard rail as illustrated in FIG. 1, the power block6 should be located on the starboard side of the boom 14. For this typeof operation, it will, therefore, be necessary to shift the trolley 7from the port track section 9 to the starboard track section. Suchshifting of the trolley can be accomplished by mounting the two tracksections 9 for athwartships movement relative to a transfer tracksection 38, shown best in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. Such transfer track sectioncannot be moved athwartships, but the composite athwartships tracksections 9 can be moved as indicated in FIG. 4 so as to shift the aftend of either of the track sections 9 into registry with the tracksection 38.

The transfer track section has in it a rack section 39 which will extendin continuation of the rack section 13 of the port track section 9 whensuch track section and the transfer track section 38 are in registry, asshown in FIG. 4. Consequently, the hydraulic motor 31 can drive thepinion 12 in mesh with the rack section 39 to move the trolley 7 intothe transfer track section 38. When the two track sections have beenmoved to port so that the rack 13 of the starboard track section is inregistry with the rack section 39, the hydraulic motor 31 can beoperated in the opposite direction to drive the trolley 7 forward intothe starboard track section 9. The track sections may then be left insuch position as long as the power block is being used to haul the seinein over the port rail.

Athwartships movement of the two track sections 9 can be accomplished byactuation of the hydraulic jack 40. The track sections are guided forsuch movement by the aft ends of such track sections being slidable inthe supporting channel 25 and by the tie bar 18 being slidable throughsleeve 16. During such movement the forward supporting line 19 can beshifted lengthwise relative to the post 17 by rolling on the roller 20mounted on post 17. The jack 40 is double acting so that the tracksections can be locked in either extreme position by hydraulic fluidtrapped in one end or the other of the jack.

When the power block is shifted into a position near the outboard end ofan athwartships rail section 9, a strong wind will tend to blow the webover the rail. To limit such billowing of the web, a barrier member inthe form of a roller 41 may be mounted on the carriage by jacks 42connected to its opposite ends. Such jacks can maintain the roller in aposition with its length extending fore and aft substantially parallelto the boom 14. Such roller can be supported by a link 43 connecting theoutboard end of a track section 9 and the forward end of the roller. Bycontracting the jacks 42, the roller can be shifted from the operativeposition shown at the port side of FIG. 1 inboard into the retractedposition shown at the starboard side of FIG. 1. While retraction of theroller may not be necessary, it is preferred that such roller be capableof being retracted at the side of the carriage corresponding to the railof the purse seiner over which the seine is being hauled.

In the modified type of installation shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, inclusive,the forward end of the horizontal boom 44 again is supported on a collar36 slidable elevationally along the mast 15. The carriage 45 movablealong such boom carries a straight track 46, the length of which extendsathwartships of the boat 1. A swivel 47 supported from such trackconstitutes the mounting for the powerdriven seine-hauling block 48. Theoutboard ends of the athwartships track 46 carry sleeves 49, each ofwhich is designed to embrace a guiding and supporting rail 50 at a sideof the boat.

The carriage 45 with the athwartships track 46 can be shifted fore andaft along the boom 44 by an endless line including a forward portion 51having its end 52 connected to the forward portion of the carriage 45and an aft portion 53 having its end 54 connected to the aft portion ofthe carriage 45. An intermediate portion of the line 51, 53 is woundaround the drum of a small winch motor 55, which can either be hydraulicor electric. Rotation of the motor in one direction will reel in theforward line portion 51 and pay out the aft line portion 53correspondingly to shift the carriage forward. Alternatively, the motor55 can be driven in the reverse direction to haul in the aft lineportion 53 and correspondingly pay out the forward line portion 51 toshift the carriage 45 rearwardly.

The carriage 45 is supported for movement fore and aft along the boom 44by rollers 56 journaled in the upper portion of the carriage fore andaft of the athwartships track 46, respectively. The outboard sleeves 49have corresponding rollers 57 journaled in their upper portions fore andaft of the athwartships track 46 for the purpose of supporting suchsleeves on one or the other of the side rails 50. Since such rails arepreferably removable so that only one such rail will be used to supportand guide an end of track 46 at any given time, it is desirable for eachtrack 50 to be anchored to withstand both upward and downward loadstransmitted to it from the adjacent end of track 46. Consequently, asshown in FIG. 10, it is desirable to provide guide rollers 57 both aboveand below the side rail 50.

In order to enable either one of the guide sleeves '49 to bedisconnected readily from its rail 50, each sleeve can be splitlongitudinally to form an upper section 58a and a lower section 58b asshown in FIG. 10. The upper section is formed or secured integrally withits end of the athwartships track 46. The upper and lower arcuatesections of the sleeve 49 are connected together at one side of the rail50 by a hinge 59' and at the other side of the rail by eyebolts 60connecting slotted ears of the sleeve sections.

The lower ends of the guide rails 50' can be anchored to the deck of theboat 1 by flanged deck plates 61 connected to the lower ends of theU-shaped guide rail. In order to avoid chafing of the seine by beingdrawn across the aft leg of a guide rail 50, such leg may be fittedloosely within a tube 62 rotatable relative to such leg to constitute aroller. The junctions of the upright legs with the horizontal stretch ofthe guide rail 50 can be braced relative to the boom 44 by strutsvariable in elfective length. Each strut may be of telescopeconstruction including an inner section 63 having one end pivoted to acollar 64 secured to the boom 44 and having its opposite end receivedwithin an outer tubular portion 65. The outboard end of each outersection is pivoted to a collar 66 embracing the guide rail 50 and theopposite end of such outer section is connected to the end of the innerstrut section 63 by one or more pins 67 extending through one or more ofthe apertures 68 in the overlapping strut ends.

The swivel 47 on which the block 48 is mounted is suspended from atrolley 69 received in the channelshaped track 46, as shown best in FIG.10. The downwardly extending flanges of such channel have inturned edges70 constituting tracks along which the trolley 69 can travel lengthwiseof the athwartships track. Such trolley can be moved along the track bya line loop 71 received within the track channel and having its oppositeends connected to opposite sides of the trolley, as shown in FIG. 10.One end portion of the loop extends around an idler guide pulley 72located adjacent to one outboard end of the track and the other end ofthe line loop extends over another idler guide pulley 73 adjacent to theopposite outboard end of the track 49 and around the drum of a smallwinch 74 which can be driven either by a hydraulic motor or an electricmotor.

The pulley of the power block 48 is mounted on a hanger 75 which issupported for swinging relative to the mounting 47 by a pivot pin 76extending through the eye 76'. Such eye carries a shank 77 upon which acollar 77 of the hanger 75 is swiveled. Consequently, the power blockcan swing athwartships and can be swiveled freely while it is hauling inthe seine.

The power block sheave is mounted on a shaft 78 turned by a motor 79 tohaul the seine. The seine is kept wrapped reasonably closely around thecore of the power block sheave by passing the seine between oppositeidler guide rollers 80' journaled on cantilever shafts 81, each of whichhas one end secured in a plate 82 which is swingably mounted on orconcentric with the supporting shaft 78 for the sheave.

The installation shown in FIGS. 7 to 12 can be operated to haul and stowa seine in a manner similar to that described in connection with theapparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, inclusive. Thus, by operation of thewinch 74, the trolley 69 can be shifted athwartships back and forthalong the track 46 as the seine is being hauled in. Periodicall thecarriage 45 supporting the track 46 from the boom 44 can be shiftedforward or rearward along such boom by operation of the winch 55. Bysuch combination of athwartships movement of the trolley 69 andlongitudinal shifting of track 46, the seine can be laid in neatconvolutions on the deck of the trolley, as shown in FIG. 1, by one manwith comparatively little effort, instead of such stowing of the seinerequiring hard work of several men.

I claim:

1. Mounting mechanism for mounting a seine-hauling power block on afishing boat, including elongated athwartships track means having theirlength extending substantially horizontally generally athwartships ofthe boat, and supporting means for the power block supported by thetrack means and guided thereby for bodily movement therealongsubstantially horizontally generally athwartships of the boat, whereinthe improvement comprises power drive means connected to theathwartships track means and moving the power block supporting meansalong the track means while a seine is being hauled in by the powerblock to shift the power block bodily athwartships of the boat at aspeed corresponding to the speed at which the seine is being hauled inby rotation of the power block.

2. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 1, in which the elongatedathwartships track means include two arcuate sections locatedrespectively at opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of theboat, each such arcuate section having an outboard portion extendingsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boat.

3. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 1, in which the power blocksupporting means includes a trolley supported and guided by theelongated athwartships track means for movement therealong.

4. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 1, and means supporting theathwartships track means for shifting fore and aft of the boat andoperable to effect such shifting in increments.

5. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 4, in which means thesupporting the athwartships track means includes elongated fore-and-afttrack means having its length extending fore and aft of the boat andsupporting and guiding the athwartships track means for movementtherealong.

6. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 4, in which the meanssupporting the athwartships track means includes a substantiallyhorizontal boom extending fore and aft of the boat and a carriagesupported on said boom and in turn supporting the athwartships trackmeans for fore and aft movement along said boom.

7. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 6, in which the athwartshipstrack means includes an arcuate track section having an outboard endextending athwartships of the boat and an inboard end extending fore andaft of the boat alongside the boom.

8. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 1, and billow-deterring meanssupported lower than the athwartships track means and adjacent to theiroutboard ends for deterring billowing of a seine depending from thepower block.

9. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 8, in

which the billow-deterring means is an elongated roller saving itslength extending fore and aft of the boat.

10. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 6, in which the athwartshipstrack means includes track sec- :ions respectively projecting beyondopposite sides of the 11. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 6, inwhich the athwartships track means includes a track see- ;ion ofsubstantially quadrant shape having an outboard and extendingathwartships of the boat and an inboard and extending fore and aft ofthe boat alongside the boom.

12. Mounting mechanism for mounting a seine-hauling power block on afishing boat, including elongated athwartships track means having theirlength extending substantially horizontally generally athwartships ofthe boat, and supporting means for the power block supported by thetrack means and guided thereby for bodily movement therealongsubstantially horizontally generally athwartships of the boat, whereinthe improvement comprises a horizontal boom extending fore and aft andin- :luding track means supporting the athwartships track means forbodily movement along said boom, and power drive means connected to saidboom and moving the athwartships track means and the power blocksupporting means along said boom while a seine is being hauled in by thepower block to shift the power block bodily longitudinally of the boatat a speed corresponding to the speed at which the seine is being hauledin by rotation of the power block.

13. Mounting mechanism for mounting a seine-hauling power block on afishing boat, including elongated athwartships track means having theirlength extending substantially horizontally generally athwartships ofthe boat, and supporting means for the power block supported by thetrack means and guided thereby for bodily movement therealongsubstantially horizontally generally athwartships of the boat, whereinthe improvement comprises a horizontal boom extending fore and aft andincluding track means supporting the athwartships track means for bodilymovement along said boom, and power drive means connected to one of thetrack means and moving the power block supporting means along such trackmeans while a seine is being hauled in by the power block to shift thepower block bodily relative to the boat deck at a speed corresponding tothe speed at which the seine is being hauled in by rotation of the powerblock.

14. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 13, in which the elongatedathwartships track means includes two similar arcuate track sectionshaving inboard ends adjacent to opposite sides of the longitudinalcentral plane of the boat, respectively, transfer means carried by theboom and means operable to move said arcuate track sections athwartshipsfor positioning the inboard ends thereof selectively in registry withsaid transfer means.

15. The mounting mechanism defined in claim 14, in which the transfermeans includes a transfer track section with which transfer tracksection the inboard ends of the arcuate athwartships track sections maybe placed in registry selectively.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,859,882 11/1958 Puretic 438 X2,875,547 3/1959 Puretic 43-8 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,357,963 3/1964 France.

WARNER H. CAMP, Primary Examiner T32 3? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION P t nt N 3,535,811 Dated October 27, 1970Inventor(s) Lawrence E. Demmert It is certified that error appears inthe above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Column 6, line 55, cancel means the" and insert --the means--.

Column 7, line 9, cancel "see-" and insert --secswan JVWQME ram -W AMEmlum will. mm. m. \MM (ha-1:51am of Patents

